Gill bar for gill boxes



May 30, 1961 G. A. KHLER 2,985,923

GILL BAR FOR GILL BOXES Filed March 50, 1959 2 sheets sheet l F75. FIG. 4

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l /3 'e 5 E w 2 3 6 L E mn May 30, 1961 G. A. KHLER GILL BAR FOR GILL BOXES Filed March 30, 1959 `I?. Sheets-Shea?l 2 (Als/nir f in United States Patent GILL BAR FOR GILL BOXES Gerhard A. Khler, Turnerstrasse 60, Kaiserslautern, Germany Filed Mar. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 802,852

Claim priority, application Germany Apr. 2, 1958 2 Claims. '(Cl. 19-129) The present invention relates to a gill bar for drafting mechanisms and the like. My co-pending application Ser. No. 512,025, iiled May 31, 1955, now Patent No. 2,927,347, describes la gill bar or `faller ybar for gil boxes, hackle boxes and the like drafting mechanisms, according Yto which the needle legs or heck portions are provided with notches, tongues or the like and together with spacer members ,are inserted into a correspondingly shaped -slot or groove of the needle support. This :gill bar furthermore comprises a locking means for selecrtively locking the needles `to the needle support or releasing the same therefrom. This locking means includes end members for holding the spacer members and needles together. If desired, one of the end -members may be stationary lwhile the other end member is displaceable. The said gill bar may have the guiding members oiset to the slot in such a way that the needles 'and spacer members `can be slipped into the slot from the ends thereof. According to my said vco-pending application, the ygill bar may be composed of two profiles which may be interconnected in a fixed or detachable manner.

It is `an object of the present invention to provide an improvement and simplification over the said gill bar.

It is also an object of the present invention to pro- Yvide a bar for -gill boxes, hackle boxes and the like, which will be simple and cheap in production and will reliably .hold the needles over the entire length thereof, veven `if `minor inaccuracies should have occurred during the production of the needles or bar portions.

These ,and other objectsand advantages of the in- Vention will appear more clearly yfrom the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a cross section through a bar portion according to the invention for receiving the needles and spacer members.

Figs. 2 and 2a respectively illustrate a needle and a corresponding spacer member for insertion .into kthe needle support of the gill bar.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of a modified needle lsupport according to the invention for receiving the needles and Yspacer members.

Fig. 4 shows a needle for insertion into the needle support of Fig. 3.

Fig. 4a is `a spacer member for insertion into Ithe needle support of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a front view partly in section of a .portion of a gill 4bar according to ythe invention employing the 'needle support of Fig. 3, the front leg of the U-proiile of Fig. 3 not being shown.

Fig; 6 is a section along the line VI--VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of needles and spacer members of a modified type.

Figure 7a is a perspective view of the needles and spacer members of Figure 7 positioned in the needle 70 support.

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Fig. 8 is a perspective view of still further modified needles and spacer members.

Fig. 9 is a top view of the needle support according to Fig. 1 or 3 for receiving the needles and spacer members.

Figure 19a is va section taken along Athe uline IXa- IXa of Figure 9.

v Fig. 1'0 is a cross section of a modified needle ,support 'for receiving the needles and spacer members.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the needle support of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of needles and spacer members for use in connection with `a needle support according to Figs. 10 andV ll.

Fig. 13 is a front View of a guiding member inserted into one end of a needle support, `the front end of Ythe U-protile of Fig. l0 not being shown.

Fig. 14 is a top view of a guiding member karranged at one end of a needle support by means of a sleeve adapted to be slipped over the needle support.

General arrangement The improvement according yto the present invention is characterized yprimarily in that the 4gill bar or faller bar has a U-prole which by deforming at least one of its legs Vcan be adapted to the respective shape of the `feet of the needles or spacer members. At least that portion of the bar which receives the needles and spacer elements or members may be made of deformable metal, or a suitable synthetic material or a compound material. Advantageously, the gill bar or faller bar may be so designed that the legs of the vbar portion receiving the 'needles and spacer members have their upper edge, starting from the outer end surfaces, bent toward the central portion in the direction toward the axis of the ybar portion. yIt is also possible to provide the outer wall of at least one of the legs of said U-proiile with a cutout extending in its longitudinal direction and weakening the wall so that the wall will be `deformable within the range of said cutout.

Needles -for gill or faller bars of the above mentioned type may be provided with a lbottom extension or may have at least two notches oiiset relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the needles. A similar design may be provided for the spacer members.

A further feature of the invention consists in that the end pieces securing the needles and spacer members in the bar against displacement are simultaneously designed as guiding and moving members of the gill bar.

To this end, the end Vpieces may be insertable into the U-prole and may be secured thereto. Advantageously, at least one of the end pieces may at that end thereof which is n'srtable into the interior of the U-proiile be resilient. Furthermore, lthe end pieces may be provided with `a sleeve adapted to be moved upon the U-prole.

According to the invention, the gill bar comprises at least in that portion which receives the needles and the spacer members, a U-proiile Iwhich is adapted by deformation of at least one of its legs to be shaped in conformity with the shape of the bottom portion of the needles or the spacer members.

Structural arrangement Referring now to the drawings in detail and Figs. 1, 2 and 2a thereof in particular, Fig. 1 represents a cross section through a `bar portion of the invention for receiving the needles and spacer members. This bar v.portion 1 may consist of deformable metal or of a suitable synthetic material so that the lJ-prole will be obtained as shown in Fig. 1. The two legs 2 and 3 taper toward each other in an upward direction, in other words the U-shaped profile becomes wider toward the bottom so that needles 4 and spacer members l5 can be inserted into the bar of U-shaped profile. Fig. 2 shows such needle 4 with a foot 6 shaped in conformity with the U-shaped profile of the bar. Fig. 2a shows a spacer member 5 which similarly has a contour corresponding to the contour of the bar 1, 2, 3 for receiving the needle and the spacer members. t

Fig. 3 is a cross section through another embodiment of a gill bar according to the invention for receiving needles of the type shown at 12 in Fig. 4 and spacer members 13 of the type shown in Fig. 4a. The gill bar portion 7 may, similar to the gill bar portion 1 of Fig. l, consist for instance of sheet metal or of a suitable synthetic material or the like. Also the bar 7 has a U- profile. In this instance, each of the legs 8 and 9 is provided with a pressed-in depression 10, 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of the bar 7. For purposes of inserting needles and spacer members into bar portion 7, needles 12 and spacer members 13 as shown in Figs. 4 and 4a may be employed. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the needle 12 is provided with an annular notch 14 arranged in the foot section of the needle. The said foot section corresponds to the cross section of the bar portion 7. Also the spacer member 13 is formed accordingly. Expediently, the foot portion of the needles 12 and spacer members 13 leaves at the inner bottom surface of bar 7 a slight gap in order to compensate for minor deviations in the tolerances during the manufacture of these parts.

It should be noted that Figs. 1 to 4 do not represent actual dimensions but have unilaterally been enlarged in order more clearly to Ibring out the important features of the invention.

Figs. and 6 illustrate a portion of a ybar section 7 according to Fig. 3 but at a different scale. This section of gill bar 7 is equipped with needles 12 and spacer members 13 as shown in particular in Fig. 4 while Fig. 6 also illustrates the effect of the depressions and 11 arranged in the legs 8 and 9.

A further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 7 which shows a further modification of needles 15 and spacer members 16. The notchings 17 and 18 are olfset in longitudinal direction of needles 15. It is, of course, understood that also the spacer members 16 are provided with notchings in the same manner.

Fig. 8 illustrates still another embodiment of needles 19 and spacer members 20. As will be seen from Fig. 8, the needles 19 as well as the spacer members 20 have one side provided with two notches 21 whereas the oppositely located side is provided with one notch 22 only which, however, is offset with regard to the notches on the opposite side.

These various embodiments of the bar portion receiving the needles and the spacer members and the corresponding design of the needles and the spacer members will assure a reliable holding of the needles and spacer members in the gill bar. The main advantage of the arrangements according to the invention consists in that the gill ybar portions receiving the needles and spacer members, as well as the needles and spacer members can be produced in a very simple and therefore cheap way. It is also possible to shape the upper edge of the legs of the bar portions receiving the needles and spacer members in such a way that they extend upwardly from the outer end faces toward the central portion thereof in the direction toward the axis of the bar portion as shown in Fig. 9 with the legs 24 and 25 of the bar portion 23. In this way, a reliable holding of all inserted needles and spacer members over the entire length of the bar portion 23 will be assured even if minor inaccuracies should have occurred during the manufacture of the bar portions or the needles or the spacer members.

Figs. 10 to 12 show an embodiment for a bar portion and for the needles and spacer members. In this nstance, the U-prole 26 with the legs 27 and 28 is so designed that said legs are provided with a recess 29 extending in the longitudinal direction of the bar and rcducing the thickness of the walls forming the legs. It is within these recesses 29 that the legs 27 and 28 are deformable. By an appropriate deformation, the depressions 30 on the inside of legs 27 and 28 may be produced. Legs 27 and 28 will retain the needles 31 and spacer members 32 (Fig. 12) which are provided with corresponding notches.

The bar portions 1, 7, 23 or 26 receiving the needles and spacer members will, of course, even if the needles and spacer members are inserted into the bar, not be able to move as needle bars in drafting mechanisms. This is due to the fact that the bar portions are not provided with guiding members required for such movement. It is rather necessary additionally to provide guiding members at both ends of the bar receiving the needles and the spacer members. To this end the end pieces securing the needles and spacer members in the bar against displacement are in conformity with the present invention simultaneously designed as guiding and moving elements of the gill bar. The connection between the gill bar and the guiding and moving elements is expediently detachable and xable. Fig. 13 represents an example for completing a bar portion provided with needles and spacer members to a gill bar insertable into a drafting mechanism. Needles 34 and spacer members 35 are inserted into the gill bar 33 in one of the manners described above. At the outer end of the gill bar portion 33 there remains a free space in the U-pro1e which serves for receiving the guiding element 36 designed as -the end piece. The end piece 37 insertable into the bar 33 and pertaining to the guiding member 36 has a cross section of the same profile as the inner prole of the bar 33 so that the end piece can be inserted into bar 33 without any diiculties. The length of the end member 37 is so designed that on one hand a sufciently stable connection can be obtained between the bar portion 33 and guiding member 36 while on the other hand the end member simultaneously serves as safety element for locking the needles and spacer members, i.e. the needles and spacer members against displacement in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the gill bar 33. Expediently, the connection between gill bar portion 33 and guiding portion 36 is brought about not only by the friction between these parts but also by at least one safety member, so that said connection can selectively be disengaged or fixed. According to the example shown in Fig. 13, a bore 38 is provided which extends through the bar portion 33 and the guiding member 36. A notched pin, a hollow rivet or any other suitable standard safety element may be inserted into said bore 38 as long as it permits a detachable and fixable connection.

Fig. 14 represents another embodiment of a connection of the bar portion with the guiding member. The end member 39 of the guiding portion 40 is again moved into the bar portion 41 to such an extent that it will secure the needles 42 and spacer members 43 against displacement in the direction o`f the longitudinal axis of the bar portion 41. Up to this point, the embodiment corresponds to that of Fig. 13. In contrast to Fig. 13, the arrangement of Fig. 14 provides a sleeve 44 which extends over the guiding member 40 and also the bar portion 41 at at least three sides and, in this way makes possible a still rmer connection between the guiding member 40 and the bar portion 41. This connection is detachable and lxable by means of the screw 45 illustrated by way of example. It is, of course, also possible instead of the one illustrated screw 45 to employ two of such screws as safety elements or other equivalent safety elements. Furthermore, it is po'ssible to make the guiding member 40 and sleeve 44 of a single piece whereby the stability will still further be increased.

Another advantageous feature inherent to the connection of the guiding members with the bar portions consists in that the end of the guiding member which is insertable into the interior of the bar portion is resiliently designed. With the embodiment shown in Fig. 13, the end piece 37 which is adjacent the needles and pertains to' the guiding member 36 is resiliently designed, whereas with the embodiment according to Fig. 14, the end surface of end piece 39 of guiding member 40 has provided therewith a pressure plate 46 which is under the load of a pressure spring `47 inserted into the end piece 39 of the guiding member 40. It is, of course, also possible to make the resilient design of the insertable end pieces of the guiding member in a different manner.

It is, of course, to' be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular constructions shown in the drawings but also comprises any modications within the scope of the appended claims. It is merely necessary that such variations will result in a gill bar which retains the advantages of the gill bar described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 512,025, led May 31, 1955, now Patent No. 2,927,347, but in addition thereto will have furthher advantages such `as a light weight and simplicity of manufacturing such gill bars.

While various synthetic materials and compound materials may be employed for the deformable support receiving the needles and spacer means, synthetic materials such as polyamides and compound materials such as alloys of zinc, tin and copper have proved particularly advantageous.

What I claim is:

l. In combination in a gill bar: a needle support having a slot extending in the longitudinal direction thereof,

tively interposed between each two successive neck portions of said needles, said needle support having a U- shaped cross section with at least one of the legs thereof consisting of deformable and exible material, the upper edge of the legs of said cross section extending increasingly toward each other beginning at the outer end surfaces o-f said support and increasing toward the central portion of said support.

2. In combination in a gill bar: a needle support having a U-shaped cross section with at least one deformable leg, a set of needles supported by said needle support, each of said needles having a Working portion protruding from said support and a neck portion removably located between the legs of said support of U-shaped cross section, a set of spacer means removably arranged between said legs and respectively interposed between each two successive neck portions of said needles, gill bar guiding means having a portion thereof inserted into said support and simultaneously securing said needles and spacer means to said support against accidental displacement, and sleeve means overlapping a portion of said needle support and o'f said guiding means for securing the latter to said needle support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,673,408 Holdsworth June 12, 1928 2,860,381 Spisak Nov. 18, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 201,941 Australia May 18, 1956 314,815 Italy Feb. 7, 1934 851,530 Germany Oct. 6, 1952 

